How a press watchdog by Royal Charter could work

Establishing a new press watchdog by Royal Charter could allow Prime Minister
David Cameron to satisfy demand for tighter controls over newspapers at the
same time as preserving the freedom of the press.

David Cameron is considering establishing a new independent press watchdog by Royal CharterPhoto: Getty Images

The only meaningful comparison in existence at the moment is the BBC’s charter, which includes obligations to produce “high quality, challenging and original” programmes and to make the World Service.

The Royal Charter mechanism cannot be changed without government approval, meaning that newspapers would not be able to unilaterally change the agreed rules in the future.

However, in contrast to state legislation which can be amended and made more aggressive at any time, a Royal Charter is usually only reviewed every 10 years, minimising the opportunity for political influence.

In reality, however, the chartered body – in this case, newspapers – would enter negotiations with the Government ahead of the Charter and in the run up to its renewal, once a decade.

There is no strict process for those negotiations. “It is a bit like choosing the Poet Laureate. These negotiations happen infrequently, the system is reinvented every time,” a Government source told the Telegraph.

The last time that the BBC’s Royal Charter was renewed, in 2007, the Government formed a committee more than three years before hand to take hearings from the corporation and members of the public and industry.

There followed a flurry of consultations, seminars, and the BBC’s own proposed blueprint for reform, before the final agreement was reached.

The Government wields considerable power over the chartered organisations during this period. However, it is an important step down from statutory legislation, where the screws could be turned at any time.